XIMENES CROSSWORD No. 1135

HILAIRE BELLOC

1.  J. A. Fincken: A product of Balliol, I, here reaching a centenary (anag. + C, & lit.; born 1870; “B. made me …”).

2.  L. May: I cheer Balliol abroad (anag. & lit.; poem ‘To the B. men still in Africa’).

3.  A. S. Everest: Do I cheer Balliol? He did (anag. & lit.; do = set in order; “B. made me …”).

V.H.C.

J. A. Blair: Doctor ill with ache or bile. He wrote “There is no cure for this disease” (anag.; doctor, vb; ‘Henry King’).

R. E. C. Burrell: He wrote about the treeless Downs, i.e. bare hill and col were his elements (anag.; ‘Hills and the Sea’).

P. M. Coombs: Treated bachelor ill, i.e. attacked don (anag.; G. G. Coulton).

N. C. Dexter: He hymned Matilda’s sad adieu: the call “I boil here” can’t be true (anag.; ‘M.: Who told Lies …’).

Dr R. E. Gillson: Balliol cheer I treated with some poetic licence (anag. & lit.; “B. made me …”).

S. Goldie: I found delight in Sussex hills—an endless one; local beer I found smashing (hil(l) + anag.; ‘Hills and the Sea’).

Miss E. M. Hill: The author of the best revolt in an endless rising (i.e. A1 rebel in hilloc(k)).

E. M. Hornby: I cheer Balliol on, she made me (anag. & lit.; on = getting drunk; “B. made me …”).

Mrs M. Humpage: Writer, first-rate revolutionary, in endless rising (A1 rebel in hilloc(k)).

F. G. Illingworth: Liberal he, involved with Clio (anag. & lit.; MP and C., muse of history).

J. R. Kirby: Balliol: here I developed what it takes to start writing creatively (anag. & lit.; “B. made me …”).

A. Lawrie: Product of Balliol here—I associated with Chesterton initially (anag. + C, & lit.; “B. made me …”; friend of G.K.C.).

T. W. Melluish: Historian, evoked from Clio “Hail rebel” (anag.; C., muse of history).

D. P. M. Michael: What made him? Balliol he cried. It’s obvious when the penny drops (anag. less d.; “B. made me …”).

P. H. Morgan: He’s written about one dreadful liar sounding alarm—about nothing? The reverse (I + anag., all in he + c 0 (rev.); ‘Matilda: Who told Lies …’).

C. J. Morse: Versifier, first-rate one who rises in uncrowned eminence (A1 rebel in hilloc(k)).

Mrs K. Orr: Ache, bile, ill or confused—“There is no cure for this disease” he said (anag.; ‘Henry King’).

W. Rodgers: I cheer Balliol, possibly, but my aversion to a don is well known (anag.; “B. made me …” and G. G. Coulton).

G. J. S. Ross: Collie hirable, by arrangement, one famed for penning yak and llama (anag.; poems ‘The Yak’ and ‘The Llama’).

Mrs J. Townsend: His Tarantella isn’t a dance—i.e., able choir’ll give a rendering (anag.; poem).

H.C.

Miss V. K. Abrahams, R. H. Adey, D. B. J. Ambler, W. G. Arnott, F. D. H. Atkinson, M. J. Balfour, C. Bingham, Rev C. M. Broun, E. J. Burge, A. H. P. Cardew, E. Chalkley, A. N. Clark, Mrs M. P. Craine, A. E. Crow, J. Crowther, O. M. Ellis, M. B. Fisher, P. D. Gaffey, Dr E. Gallagher, L. D. J. Gatt, J. A. Maxtone Graham, S. Hewitt, N. L. Hindley, J. P. H. Hirst, A. J. Jaggers, Mrs D. B. Jenkinson, L. W. Jenkinson, A. H. Jones, L. F. Leason, J. C. Leyland, G. A. Linsley, Dr T. J. R. Maguire, D. Martin, H. S. Mason, Mrs E. McFee, E. McNeal, J. L. Moss, I. J. Nicholas, C. S. F. Oliver, T. C. Perks, Mrs E. M. Phair, R. Postill, Mrs D. M. C. Prichard, E. J. Rackham, A. Rivlin, L. G. D. Sanders, T. E. Sanders, V. Seth, J. F. C. Shaw, Sir W. Slimmings, J. E. Smith Wright, L. T. Stokes, C. M. Tatham, M. E. Ventham, Rev C. D. Westbrook, G. H. Willett.
 

COMMENTS:—Nearly 450 entries, hardly any mistakes, but two clues each to Alexander Pope and Beatrix Potter, one each to Arnold Bennett and Cyril Fletcher; the first three seem very improbable guesses, especially as I think the last two of them wrote only prose—C. F., perhaps, a little more probable. About 150 competitors used the “I cheer Balliol” anagram, which made my job difficult, as I definitely thought it the best idea. I was forced to pay close attention to special twists, like those of the prize-winners, and points of wording and even punctuation. I hope the 70-odd users of the idea omitted altogether will not be too disappointed in view of the situation. I have given the users of other ideas a good representation among the V.H.Cs. I thought “cherie” much less attractive than “I cheer”, in spite of attempts to justify it by H.B.’s French origin. I have said before that I dislike clues in verse, even when a poet is concerned; they tend to be too long and don’t fit in with those I use in the clues to the puzzle. Those to which I have given mentions owe their positions to their ingenuity, in spite of the verse. A few competitors evidently missed the point of the reference to King Stephen, who had much trouble with Matilda (see historians, including Sellar & Yeatman, whom I know best), and his date was 1135. The kind congratulations on my great ingenuity over AREA were, I fear, undeserved. It was a pure fluke. I thought first of the diagonals, noticed that they added up to 28 letters, didn’t really want a 14 × 14 diagram, and then thought of the central space idea. When I wrote them in, lo and behold AREA appeared of its own accord. These things happen, and I grasp the chance when they do.
 
A final request, half of which I have made before in slips:—please notice the request in the Rules to use a normal-sized piece of writing-paper, about 7 × 5 inches; some competitors still persist in using pieces nearly double that in area, others use small scraps—these are a nuisance and waste my time. So also do very long-shaped envelopes, both in opening entries and even more in putting in the slips. So will you all kindly take note of these points? I may add that the majority already do.